A museum is a place that holds cultural artifacts and exhibits them. It also carries out educational and research activities. Museums have been in existence for thousands of years, and they have a rich legacy to share. However, museums have become increasingly challenged in how they fulfill their responsibilities and serve visitors’ needs.
One of the biggest challenges is recognizing that museums are multifaceted institutions that serve multiple purposes. This recognition is critical to ensuring that museums are relevant to their communities and continue to be supported in their work.
The international council of museums (ICOM) was recently tasked with revising the definition of “museum.” While the new definition, which has been approved by the ICOM’s Extraordinary General Assembly in Prague, has its strengths, it is a little more narrow than previous versions. This narrowing is problematic, and it makes it more difficult to adapt the definition of a museum to changing times.
This new definition focuses on community engagement and inclusivity. These are important, and I am glad to see that they are included in the definition. But I am concerned that they may not go far enough, and they may be viewed as tokenism in the context of a larger need for museums to cede institutional authority to their communities and shift their goal from transmitting expert knowledge to fostering dialogue and connection.
In the past, museums have been founded for a variety of reasons. These include serving as recreational facilities, scholarly venues, and educational resources; contributing to the economy of a city or region; promoting civic pride or nationalistic endeavours; and even transmitting overtly ideological concepts. Despite their enormous diversity in form, content, and function, they all share the same core mission of preservation, interpretation, and public engagement.
Museums are part of a civic infrastructure that includes libraries, hospitals, etc. These are things that a local community, through its political system, decides to support, fund, and maintain. That means that it is the responsibility of museums to make sure they are serving their community’s needs and expectations.
It is not up to me to define what a museum should be or what it should do. That is the job of the elected members of the ICOM Executive Board and their leadership team. But I do believe that it is essential to keep in mind the many voices and points of view that are expressed throughout this process.
Museums need to recognize that their future depends on their ability to adapt to ever-changing user needs and expectations. If they are not doing this, they will be in danger of losing their raison d’être.